Correction appended

The new three-year, live play-by-play radio deal between the Detroit Pistons and Greater Media Inc.’s WMGC 105.1 FM is being hailed by the team’s management as a groundbreaking type of contract between a broadcaster and a pro sports franchise.

The financial details of the deal haven’t been disclosed, however.

“It’s different than other radio deals and broadcast deals,” said Charlie Metzger, chief marketing officer, chief communications officer and executive vice president at Palace Sports and Entertainment, the umbrella management organization for the Pistons and related properties.

“The financial piece was something that hasn’t been done before,” he said.

The Pistons will retain all radio advertising revenue from the live broadcasts of the 82 regular season games and all preseason and playoff games, Metzger said, as was the case with the expired four-year contract with CBS Radio Inc.’s WXYT-FM 97.1 “The Ticket.”

He declined to disclose what those metrics are, but said they are different from the CBS Radio deal.

WMGC’s first major Pistons broadcast as the team’s flagship station will be the June 26 NBA draft.

The deal, first reported on Monday by Crain’s, includes cross-promotion of Pistons and ancillary team-related programming on Greater Media’s two other Detroit stations, WRIF-FM 101.1 FM and WCSX-FM 94.7 FM.

The stations also will promote PS&E concerts and events.

The contract involves not only live game broadcasts and pre- and post-game shows, but also content creation and streaming for all types of digital platforms. There also will be content on the station’s HD radio frequency, 105.1 HD-2.

Games and other content will be streamed live on the station and team websites and mobile apps.

A person will be hired to create Pistons content from both the Palace of Auburn Hills and Greater Media’s offices.

Mark Champion and Rick Mahorn will remain the on-air broadcast team for Pistons games. George Blaha will continue to do Pistons radio work when not doing his live TV broadcasts for Fox Sports Detroit, which has the cable rights for the team’s games.

The deal includes two one-year mutual options, which could take it through the 2018-19 season.

Building brand awareness

WMGC last year changed formats to sports talk from adult contemporary music.

Greater Media management sees the deal as a way to build WMGC’s brand awareness as a first step to boosting advertising revenue for other content on the station.

“It brings audience to the radio station that we need that will elevate our other programming. People tend to stick around a radio station when their favorite team is on it,” said Steve Chessare, Greater Media’s market manager.

While the team retains the in-game radio ad revenue, the goal is to boost listeners for the “shoulder programming” at other times on the station. That would include the local talk radio shows.

Greater Media and Palace Sports also will cooperate on non-Pistons “lifestyle” events and content, Chessare said. The two businesses have created an “innovation committee” to brainstorm ideas.

“It’s a much more encompassing partnership than the play-by-play,” he said.

The broadcaster is aware of the team’s poor performance on the court, which has siphoned attendance and revenue for the Pistons. Chessare said Greater Media is impressed by the restructuring of Palace Sports — and the soon-to-be restructuring of the Pistons under a to-be-hired general manager — more than it’s worried about wins and losses in the short term.

“The team has a way to go in the standings. Seeing how they’re structured and organized, they’re going to return quickly to the glory days,” Chessare said.

The Pistons issued an RFP in December for bids on the live-game radio rights, and negotiations have been under way the past 60 days, Metzger said.

CBS Radio was among the bidders. The others were not disclosed.

“We ended up choosing Greater Media, and it was really based on the fit as we saw it,” Metzger said. “It was a combination of a lot of factors. It’s a much better fit for us.”

Greater Media and the Pistons unveiled the deal officially at a press conference at the broadcaster’s Ferndale headquarters.

Deb Kenyon, CBS Radio’s market manager, said not having Pistons play-by-play broadcasts frees up the broadcaster’s stations for flexibility.

“We did look into it. But after really looking at what they wanted and what we wanted, it didn’t make sense for our (station) cluster,” she told Crain’s Monday afternoon.

Due to overlapping schedules, seven Pistons games ended up on CBS Radio-owned WWJ 950 AM last season. CBS Radio often has to juggle broadcasts due to conflicting games.

Greater Media touted its ability to keep the Pistons in one place.

“We’re not going to bump them anywhere. It’s on the FM dial,” Chessare said.

WXYT has dominated local radio ratings largely because it has the rights to air live all four of Detroit’s professional sports teams’ games. The radio contracts for the Detroit Lions, Tigers and Red Wings all expire in 2015.

Getting the Pistons’ rights allows WMGC to chip away at its rival.

Currently, WMGC has six hours of local content.

Drew Lane, formerly of the “Drew & Mike” morning show that was on WRIF 101.1 FM for two decades, is WMGC’s flagship local personality. He hosts an afternoon drive-time talk show.

The other locally produced content is Matt Dery’s noon-3 p.m. sports talk show. The remainder of air time is filled with syndicated ESPN content.

Metzger said the Pistons were keen to be linked to the station’s ESPN content, which often includes NBA news and discussion.